Artemio Ricarte y García (October 20, 1866 – July 31, 1945) was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. He is regarded as the Father of the Philippine Army, and the first Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (March 22, 1897- January 22, 1899) though the present Philippine Army descended from the American-allied forces that defeated the Philippine Revolutionary Army led by General Ricarte. Ricarte is notable for never having taken an oath of allegiance to the United States government that occupied the Philippines from 1898 to 1946. Early life From the legal union and matrimony of Esteban Ricarte y Faustino with Bonifacia Garcia y Rigonan were born three children: Uno, Artemio and Ylumidad, in the town of Batac, province of Ilocos Norte. Artemio finished his early studies in his hometown and moved to Manila for his tertiary education. He enrolled at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He prepared for the teaching profession at the University of Santo Tomas and then at the Escuela Normal. After finishing his studies, he was sent to the town of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias) in Cavite province to supervise a primary school. There, he met Mariano Álvarez, another school teacher and a surviving revolutionary of the 1872 Cavite mutiny. Ricarte joined the ranks of the Katipunan under the Magdiwang Council, where he held the rank of Lieutenant General. He adopted the nom-de-guerre, "Víbora" (Viper). Philippine Revolution After the start of the Philippine Revolution on August 31, 1896, Ricarte led the revolutionists in attacking the Spanish garrison in San Francisco de Malabon. He crushed the Spanish troops and took the civil guards as prisoner. On March 22, 1897, during the Tejeros Convention, Ricarte was unanimously elected Captain-General of a new revolutionary government under Emilio Aguinaldo as president. While he took his oath of office alongside Aguinaldo, he at first joined the Katipunan leader Andres Bonifacio's protests against the legitimacy of this government alongside most other Magdiwang leaders, but he and the others abandoned Bonifacio within a month and he assumed his office in Aguinaldo's government on April 24. Later he received a military promotion to Brigadier-General in Aguinaldo's army. He led his men in various battles in Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas. Aguinaldo designated him to remain in Biak-na-Bato, San Miguel, Bulacan to supervise the surrender